SEE Center News

The Safety, Environment, and Education Center has been renamed the Center for Health Education & Wellness. The Center for Health Education & Wellness is dedicated to a community model that is embodied in the “Vols Help Vols” commitment. The center manages 974-HELP, the Distressed Student Protocol, case management, and the Threat Assessment Task Force. Additionally, the center educates students about health and wellness areas that impact student success.

Two UT employees have made the Greater Knoxville Business Journal’s “Forty under Forty” list of young community leaders. They are Ashley Blamey, director of the Safety, Environment and Education Center, and Karla McKanders, associate professor of law.

UT will celebrate Veterans Day on Monday, November 11, with its third annual National Day of Remembrance and Roll Call. The university will also create a “flag garden” on the south lawn of Ayres Hall as a visual acknowledgment of veterans, who are serving or have served, and UT Libraries will set up an exhibit of World War I and Civil War memorabilia. Members of the campus community are invited to place a flag in the flag garden in honor of a veteran. Flags can be reserved free of charge online.

As final exams draw near, many areas of campus are offering ways to help students focus, unwind, or both. And while the first step of being ready for finals is staying healthy, students will have activities ranging from ice cream socials to puppy play time to help soothe their frazzled nerves. Classes end this Friday. Monday, April 29, is a study day. Finals begin Tuesday, April 30.

Ashley Blamey, director of the Safety, Environment, and Education Center, and the Task Force in Support of Student Veterans had a big idea that will help student veterans find each other at UT: a small “T” pin emblazoned with the stars and stripes. The first group of the pins will be given out today at an orientation session for veterans who are preparing to start classes at UT in the spring as transfer students.

The number of military veterans and their dependents enrolling at UT has been increasing. University officials say there have been 799 student veterans or their dependents enrolled this year—a jump of more than 70 percent since 2009. Last fall, the university established the Task Force in Support of Student Veterans to better serve the veterans in the UT community. Veterans Day is Sunday, November 11, and the university is commemorating the day through several events throughout the month.

Two staff members from the Division of Student Life have been recognized by their peers and named to leadership positions in professional organizations. Ashley Blamey, director of the SEE Center, has been selected to serve as the first president of the Higher Education Case Managers Association. Frank Cuevas, executive director of University Housing, will co-chair the next Latinos in Higher Education Institute for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

WBIR-TVWBIR-TV hosted a town hall meeting on Tuesday, April 17, to discuss underage drinking. Ashley Blamey, director of UT’s Safety, Environment, and Education (SEE) Center, was part of the panel and discussed some of UT’s efforts to help students make safer, smarter decisions. These efforts include positive peer pressure and reaching students early.

The Safety, Environment, and Education Center will host “21 Days to Make a Good Habit,” a health fair showcasing ways for students to make healthy lifestyle changes, on Wednesday, February 29, in the University Center Ballroom. The goal of the event is to promote strategies for students to improve academic success by adopting healthy habits.